About Holland Open Garden
Having witnessed firsthand the devastation and heart break of Alzheimer’s Disease, Lorraine Holland along with daughter Laura have made the absolute commitment to raise funds for Dementia Research in finding a cure.
By focusing on the things they are passionate about, the “Memory Makers” Dubbo Art Prize and Holland‘s Open Garden weekend was born.
Dementia is not an old person’s disease
In our family Younger Onset Alzheimer’s at 48, 52 and 55 years becomes unbelievable and devastating.
Without a cure and the familial gene present another generation of our family, along with 1000’s of other Australians, are facing the unnerving prospect of this disease in their futures.
Lifelong Connection to Art and Community
Lorraine has lived in Dubbo for over 40 years. Always an active member of the community, firstly with her love of horses and equestrian sports and later working with disadvantaged youth.
She met and married the love of her life Alex and they ran an irrigation property and construction business.
Lorraine developed a love of gardening from her grandmother and was always drawing and painting things as a child. Her first career was as a sign writer and visual merchandiser. She had little time for gardening or art in those earlier years as she juggled family, community work and business life.
After selling their property, she and Alex moved to a home on 2 acres. While building a picture framing and art supplies business her involvement with the art community blossomed.
Alex and Lorraine owned the Third Dimension Picture Framing, Art Supplies, Studio and Gallery for 12 years. Their daughter Laura developed a passion for art as well and so Lorraine and Laura coordinated many art exhibitions and art workshops for both local and visiting artists.
Lorraine and Laura have been strong advocates and supporters of the Orana regions artistic community ever since.
This business ceased as a result of Alex’s diagnosis of Younger Onset Alzheimer’s Disease, however Laura opened the Red Door Gallery and subsequently Creative Fusion Gallery to support her own art practice (Laura Holland Artist) and to continue to feature the talents of artists from across the region.
Meanwhile Lorraine pursued her passion of gardening and in 2016 opened her garden for the first time to raise funds for Alzheimer’s research. Although small, it was the beginning of a vision to create a significant fundraising event in the future.
The inaugural event was held in 2021, and was a huge success thanks to the Dubbo community and a special group of friends who helped make it a significant and memorable experience.
Come and join us at this years event and help make a difference.
About The Holland Garden
When Lorraine inherited the 14 year old garden with mature trees and native shrubs, she kept adding her own ideas to create connections between existing and new.
Lorraine’s love for garden design was bigger than her limited skillset and confidence at the time. Over time, many plants were lost, until Lorraine’s knowledge and understanding started to change her thumbs to green.
There have been beautiful surprises, self-sown ones and gifts from friends. Some of which, we still don’t know the name of. Lorraine’s motto is to just keep going, finding what works well in this space.
Through her husband’s illness and after loosing him in 2021, the garden has become her refuge and a place to find balance, calm and joy.
We invite you to come a spend some time here and experience your own joy.
About Weekend Events
The Holland Open Garden and Memory Makers Art Prize is a weekend to explore gardens, enjoy local art, and support dementia research.
The program includes open gardens, talks, workshops, and exhibitions as well as food, music, and community moments throughout. From Saturday night’s cocktail party with Adam Harvey to Sunday’s plant stall and choir performance, there’s something for everyone.
Since 2021, the event has raised over $54,000 for dementia-related causes, with all funds going directly to support research and care.
“Dementia is not going away anytime soon. But together we can help our community navigate this future. We must urgently find more informed, compassionate, and better ways of living with and treating this disease. I believe we need to still represent hope that we can find a cure.”
- Lorraine Holland
Dementia Australia Research Foundation
The exact number of people with dementia in Australia is currently not known. In 2020 there were between 400,000 and 459,000 Australians living with dementia (AIHW 2018; DA 2020), however the updated estimate in 2022 is there are 487,500 Australians living with Dementia.
This is an increase of 28,500 people whose lives have been forever changed due to this debilitating disease. Alzheimer’s disease accounting for over 70% of diagnosed cases.
One of the pressing issues is to build capacity in the dementia research sector by supporting students and early career dementia researchers.
The Dementia Australia Research Foundation is only supported by donations from the public, however it plays a major role in this effort and funds a number of new and early career researchers through scholarships and project grants.
We are not personally able to fund research and dementia care services in our community however we can use our experience, our passions, our connections, our work ethic and our unwavering commitment to making a difference to create this significant fundraising event each year.
An event that will also raise an awareness and demonstrate support for others living in this difficult space.